Dear Jim Dodge,

I want to trick you into writing more books. To make my words massage the parts of your brain that put pen to paper. To coax you in from cutting firewood and pluck your nose out of the newspaper and redirect your energy to putting your thoughts and humor on paper. Okay so I imagine you do more than cut wood and sit around reading the newspaper, perhaps you even get your news like me: through osmosis.

Honestly I’d rather clean a toilet than struggle with the written word. Writing, like art, is mainly isolating and rarely lucrative. Reading on the other hand can be an incredible experience and source of inspiration. So I’m torn in asking you to endure a process I loathe to create a product I love.

Writing requires an intellectual discipline that perpetuates restlessness that physical labor usually deters. I’d rather spend my day in a filthy shop grinding metal than in front of a computer, but here I am.

My favorite book is Stone Junction, followed by Fup, then tied between the introduction of Not Fade Away and the poem “Bathing Joe” from Rain on the River.

If there is anything I can offer you as an incentive, barter or motivation (short of a monetary bribe) please let me know.

Thank you so much,

CHANDI